The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Többet
The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
James 1,1-11
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to all generously and without scolding; it will be given. But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind. That sort of person, in two minds, inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up, and the rich in being brought low. For the rich will last no longer than the wild flower; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the same with the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich will wither.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
James presents himself at the beginning of the letter as the "servant" of God. It is the title on which the authority of his words is based, thus inserting itself into the biblical tradition that shows the Lord choosing his servants (Moses, Abraham, David and all the prophets). James wants to address, with apostolic authority, the Christian communities of the diaspora. Although scattered in so many parts of the world, they are united by the Gospel as a single people of God. James wants communities to be "mature and complete." For this reason, he urges them to always be happy, even in the midst of the difficulties and trials they must undergo. The "test," the author writes, is a good time for growth. The joy that James speaks of is different from the joy of the world, which seeks in every way, even desperately, to avoid adversity. Francis of Assisi will speak of perfect joy right in the middle of the trials of life. Job's temptations from the devil showed that his faith was strong even when he had problems. In the trials of life, the light of faith must shine. The martyrs, both those of the first Christian generation and those of our time, who faced the most difficult trials with patience confident in God remind us of this. The trials of life help to mature the virtue of patience. For the Apostle, patience is not resignation. On the contrary, the rush to solve everything quickly, to see the fruits immediately, can make us superficial. Patience, on the other hand, prompts the believer to turn to God and ask Him for the wisdom to face these difficult moments and overcome them. God is generous in granting wisdom to those who ask it. We all need it. For James, those who trust only themselves remain uncertain and undecided: they lack the inner strength to respond to the trials of life. He therefore invites al to ask for help with the trust of children who rely on the Father, certain He will answer them. It is easy instead to indulge in our uncertainties, to end up, paradoxically, loving them, remaining tied to the many agitations of our hearts, which are often trivial, superficial, and yet so much our own that we cannot get rid of them. We therefore ask God for wisdom of the heart, to be strong and patient in life.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
